System, method and apparatus for allocating wireless channels in a multi-channel access point
First Claim
1. A method in a wireless device for selecting a channel for communicating with a multi-channel wireless access point providing data or voice service, comprising:
- transmitting a network request to the wireless access point for data or voice service;
receiving a beacon signal from the wireless access point, the beacon signal carrying access information comprising one or more throughput metrics and one or more latency statistics, wherein said one or more latency statistics are based at least in part on one or more signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SNIR) measurements;
determining whether, based on the access information, a channel is available that meets a quality of service requirement for a voice connection; and
assigning the channel to offload the voice connection to the wireless access point if the channel is available that meets the quality of service requirement for the voice connection.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus provide for channel selection within a wireless network. A multi-channel wireless access point may select a channel for a wireless device requesting data or voice service based on the transmit times of each channel supported by the multi-channel wireless access point. The transmit times may be based on the physical rates of the devices assigned to each channel. The channel may also be selected based on the quality of service requested by the wireless device, the medium occupancy of each channel, or the number of wireless devices assigned to each channel. Alternatively the wireless device may select the channel for assignment based on channel statistics information provided by the multi-channel wireless access point. This information may be provided through one or more beacon signals, or supplied in response to a request for the information from a wireless device.
16 Citations
22 Claims
-
1. A method in a wireless device for selecting a channel for communicating with a multi-channel wireless access point providing data or voice service, comprising:
-
transmitting a network request to the wireless access point for data or voice service; receiving a beacon signal from the wireless access point, the beacon signal carrying access information comprising one or more throughput metrics and one or more latency statistics, wherein said one or more latency statistics are based at least in part on one or more signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SNIR) measurements; determining whether, based on the access information, a channel is available that meets a quality of service requirement for a voice connection; and assigning the channel to offload the voice connection to the wireless access point if the channel is available that meets the quality of service requirement for the voice connection. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
-
9. A wireless device, comprising:
-
a wireless transmitter; a wireless receiver; a transmit module, configured to make a request to a multi channel wireless access point for data or voice services; a receive module, configured to receive a beacon signal from the multi-channel wireless access point, the beacon signal carrying access information comprising one or more throughput metrics and one or more latency statistics, wherein said one or more latency statistics are based at least in part on one or more signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SNIR) measurements; and a processor, configured to determine whether, based on the access information, a channel is available that meets a quality of service requirement for a voice connection, and to assign the channel to offload the voice connection to the wireless access point if the channel is available that meets the quality of service requirement for the voice connection. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. A wireless apparatus, comprising:
-
means for transmitting a network request to the wireless access point for data or voice service; means for receiving a beacon signal from the access point, the beacon signal carrying access information comprising one or more throughput metrics and one or more latency statistics, wherein said one or more latency statistics are based at least in part on one or more signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SNIR) measurements; means for determining whether, based on the access information, a channel is available that meets a quality of service requirement for a voice connection; and means for assigning the channel to offload the voice connection to the wireless access point if the channel is available that meets the quality of service requirement for the voice connection. - View Dependent Claims (15)
-
-
16. A non-transitory, computer readable medium including instructions that when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
-
transmit a network request to a multi-channel wireless access point for data or voice service; receive a beacon signal from the multi-channel wireless access point, the beacon signal carrying access information comprising one or more throughput metrics and one or more latency statistics, wherein said one or more latency statistics are based at least in part on one or more signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SNIR) measurements; determine whether, based on the access information, a channel is available that meets a quality of service requirement for a voice connection; and assign the channel to offload the voice connection to the wireless access point if the channel is available that meets the quality of service requirement for the voice connection. - View Dependent Claims (17)
-
-
18. A method of assigning a wireless device to a channel in a multi-channel access point, comprising:
-
receiving a network request from a wireless device for data or voice services; determining the transmit times for a plurality of channels, one or more latency statistics and one or more throughput metrics, wherein said one or more latency statistics are based at least in part on one or more signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SNIR) measurements; determining whether, based at least in part on the transit times, said one or more latency statistics and one or more throughput metrics, a channel is available that meets a quality of service requirement for a voice connection; assigning the channel to offload the voice connection to the wireless access point if the channel is available that meets the quality of service requirement for the voice connection; and transmitting a beacon signal to the wireless device indicating the assigned channel. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
-
Specification